Page 4457 - Week 15 - Thursday, 22 November 1990
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MR COLLAERY (Minister for Housing and Community Services) (10.55): Mr Speaker, I welcome the comments today. I share Mrs Grassby's concerns for the shopkeepers at Melba. I inform the house that the advice that is available to me today is that the demolition will be fully completed, hopefully, by 31 December. That, apparently, is the contracted date. But there is a three-year regrowth program, and I do not believe that there is any point in gilding the lily. That will be a difficult time for the shopkeepers at Melba.
The three-year regrowth program is essentially a program of which Mrs Grassby is largely aware. It includes the possible joint venture with the Uniting Church, at the western end of the development, for a rather large development of up to 50 aged persons units. There is a proposal at this stage for the release of land into the private market, and consideration is being given to a variety of developments in the area.
I believe that when the whole site is cleared and the extent of preservation of the very expensive hydraulic and other headworks is reassessed there can be a better basis for some further community consultation on the use of that very important and very valuable site.
Mr Moore's comments, if I take them properly, are meant to be upon the discussion paper that the Housing Trust released recently, on my authority, about the proposed progressive purchase scheme. The concerns raised by Mr Moore are part of the issues that the Government will need to weigh up before it decides to enter any such scheme to do with public housing.
Balanced against the views that are advanced that, since the majority of our tenants are rebated tenants, we need to keep as many full rent paying tenants as possible, simply to cross-subsidise them, is the very strong pressure on me as Minister from people who wish to acquire their homes. Since we released that discussion paper we have received a very large number of letters and approaches from longstanding tenants and shorter standing tenants of more than five years - that is the suggested threshold figure - who are very keen to acquire their homes.
As members are aware, and as I am sure Mrs Grassby knows, we have more than 750 homes in Kambah, for example. The reduction of stock in that suburb by 50 per cent would not mean that the social character of the suburb would alter. A quick survey of those homes indicates that they have been quite progressively improved by the tenants, with carports and other landscaping improvements. There may be some equity at this stage in returning the chance to them to get in on the ground with at least a progressive purchase scheme.
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